Highly coveted center will play basketball at WSU

PULLMAN – Ernie Kent landed one of the most highly coveted recruits of his time as the Washington State head coach on Tuesday night when junior college center Davante Cooper committed to Washington State over scholarship offers from Oklahoma State, Oregon State and Purdue.

The 6-foot-11 Cooper, who currently plays for Tyler Junior College in Texas, originally signed with Bradley out of high school and at the time had a scholarship offer from Tennessee as well.

Cooper grew up in Atlanta but played his high school ball for Orangewood Academy in Southern California, where he also starred as a volleyball player. He then spent a year playing prep school basketball for West Oaks Academy in Florida.

As a freshman at Bradley last season, Cooper averaged 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in eight minutes per game, making one start. He played 18 minutes in Bradley’s game at Arizona, scoring four points on four shot attempts and collecting five rebounds before fouling out.

In an ESPN scouting report from 2013, the evaluator noted that Cooper would need time to put on strength allowing him to compete with Division I posts, but said “the upside is evident for a bright future.”

The ESPN scouting report listed strength as a weakness and called Cooper “raw” but said that his strengths are “ in addition to his extreme length … has good feet and soft hands. His timing in the paint area is excellent and his IQ for the game is impressive.”

Cooper is a good student and made the honor roll during his time at Bradley.

Jacob Thorpe